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 The energy and the wisdom
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| Looking up from Fifth Avenue at 83rd Street. 3:20 PM. Photo: JH. |
April 21, 2010. Yesterday in New York was sunny and mild. Spring is here.
Last night at the Café Carlyle Elaine Stritch opened with an encore of her show “Singin’ Sondheim ... One Song at a Time.”
The Broadway legend and I have mutual friends, namely Liz Smith, and so I’ve had the pleasure of her company a few times, including, at a couple of her birthdays which she shares with her longtime friend Liz.
To her friends she’s “Elaine,” as in “oh Elainnnne,” the girl with the Midwest, All-American work ethic and a workerbee’s approach to business. In the world of Broadway legends, however, she’s simply “Stritch” to her countless admirers and fans. |
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But to any performer or any would-be performer, or any aficionado of the American Musical Theatre, she’s pure genius. Not genius like wunderkind or even Mr. Edison. But genius like Picasso – full of emotion, astonishing, delighting, confounding, getting to the heart of the matter, and easily leaving you laughing. If she feels like it. I know that’s quite an encomium for a Broadway Baby, but there you have it; that’s what we got last night at the Café Carlyle, and if there’s anything like that “live” anywhere within ten thousand miles, I don’t know about it.
I missed her “Sondheim” evening the first time around, earlier this year, because it was sold out before I even heard about it. This time, I made it my business to put in my name well in advance, along with those of three other friends -- because there’s nothing like sharing the magic of a great performance with kindred spirits. |
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The genius in Elaine Stritch’s book is Mr. Sondheim, and last night she showed us why. The art of performing a song from the musical theatre is a rare one, especially these days with our techno-friendly/language-lost concoctions. With Stritch delivering Sondheim, it’s not unlike being present watching what Picasso could do with paint. The stage is her canvas. Stephen Sondheim provides the elements. The results astonish and delight. She can bring out the tears (as she did last night with “Send in the Clowns”). She can crack you up, as she did with her opening song, “I Feel Pretty.” She can illustrate the day-to-day as she did with “The Little Things You Do Together,” and call up the Zeitgeist, as if for the first time, with “The Ladies Who Lunch.”
We’ve heard most if not all of the Sondheim in her current repertoire, sometimes dozens, maybe thousands of times. Stephen Sondheim is definitely the most prolific composer/lyricist of the last half century of musical theatre, although his popularity runs the gamut of emotions with the audience. However, when Stritch performs his work on that tiny stage in the Café Carlyle with her five musicians (including pianist and conductor Rob Bowman), nothing matters: it’s brand new all over again. Because like the aforementioned Picasso, Stritch owns the paintbox.
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| After the show last night: Amanda McBroom, Tovah Feldshuh, Elaine, and composer Michele Bourman. |
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If you’ve never seen Elaine Stritch, or even if you have seen Elaine Stritch a dozen times before, don’t miss this brand-new chance of a lifetime if you can help it. It's hard to believe that girl turned 84 last February 2, because even though she doesn't exactly look like a kid, the energy is 34 and not a minute older. The wisdom, however, changes the playing field, and although she’s probably got the best pair of legs on any stage in town, and can turn out a tap or a soft shoe on cue with the matter-of-fact dexterity of a ten-year-old (really), she’s only there until April 29 (a week from Thursday) this time around, and who knows when she’ll feel like returning to captivate us once again. Café Carlyle: (212) 744-1600.
The Program
“I Feel Pretty” – West Side Story
“Rose’s Turn” - Gypsy
“Send In The Clowns” – A Little Night Music
“Everybody Says Don’t” – Anyone Can Whistle
“Love Is In the Air” – (cut from) A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
“The Little Things You Do Together” - Company
“Broadway Baby” -- Follies
“Everyday A Little Death” – A Little Night Music
“The Road Not Taken” – Road Show – Musical Review
“A Parade In Town” -- Anyone Can Whistle
“The Ladies Who Lunch” - Company
“Thank You So Much” – Do I Hear a Waltz?
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